There appears to be something of a contradiction within the Volkswagen camp, which makes choosing the best diesel hot hatch a daunting task.

The three VW choices are the Golf, Audi A3 and SEAT Leon, which all do precisely the same job but cost different amounts.

The 170bhp SEAT Leon FR weighs in at £17,495, while the 170bhp Audi A3 is £19,165 and the identical 170bhp Golf GT is £19,095.

They have the same performance and economy plus the quality for which all Volkswagen Group products are renowned.

On the face of it then the obvious choice is the SEAT, especially in comparison to the Golf, which costs £1,500 more.

The reason for the price differences is simply image and the amount of money that punters are prepared to spend to buy into their preferred brand.

For a rapidly growing number of people Audi is now the winner in the style stakes, even ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The A3 line-up is extremely comprehensive and includes petrol engines of 1.6, 2.0 and 3.2-litres with various power outputs.

Same applies to the diesels, which come with a choice of 1.9-litre 103bhp and two-litre 138bhp units plus a more powerful 170bhp version of the latter.

This transforms the A3 into an oil-burning hot hatch with 0-62mph acceleration in just over eight seconds and a top speed of virtually 140mph.

Even by petrol standards this is serious stuff but the obvious advantage of the diesel is you get not only the performance but impressive economy too.

The official average figure is almost 50mpg, which means that driven carefully the car can achieve at least 65mpg and even when the performance potential is exploited, it is unlikely to dip below 40mpg.

This endows the TDI 170 with awesome mid-range acceleration, which is less affected by the vehicle being fully laden.

The main disadvantage of the diesel engine is the clatter that still affects all oil-burners, no matter how sophisticated, plus the smelly business of refuelling.

Otherwise it is a pleasant package and comes with alloy wheels, side and curtain air bags, traction control and front electric windows.